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name: kiln description: "Use and maintain Kiln's AI development monorepo: Python library, REST/MCP server, desktop studio server, Svelte web UI, RAG, evals, fine-tuning, providers, tools, and repo checks." disable-model-invocation: true metadata: disco-role: operating license: NOASSERTION

Kiln Repo Skill

Use this skill when a task involves Kiln, the kiln-ai Python library, the kiln-server REST/MCP server, the desktop studio server, or the Svelte web UI. Kiln is a monorepo for building AI systems: projects/tasks/runs, evals, synthetic data, prompt optimization, RAG/documents/search, fine-tuning, tools/MCP, skills, providers/models, Git sync, desktop app, and web UI all share the same .kiln data model.

First checks

1. If working in a checkout, read references/repo-provenance.md before assuming this skill is current.
2. For package use, start with a normal install/import check:

   pip install kiln-ai kiln-server
   python - <<'PY'
   import kiln_ai
   from kiln_ai.datamodel import Project, Task
   from kiln_server.server import make_app
   print(Project, Task, len(make_app().routes))
   PY
   

3. For checkout maintenance, use scripts/check_kiln_environment.py for safe import/CLI probes and scripts/kiln_repo_checks.sh to print targeted check commands.
4. Do not run paid, prerelease, Ollama, Copilot, cloud-provider, desktop signing, release-posting, or other credentialed/destructive workflows unless the user explicitly authorizes them and supplies the required services.

Route by task

• Read sub-skills/project-datamodel/SKILL.md for .kiln files, Project, Task, TaskRun, prompts, dataset splits, skills, JSON schemas, input transforms, and kiln_ai package_project.
• Read sub-skills/task-execution-providers-tools/SKILL.md for running tasks with LiteLLM or MCP, run configs, model/provider registries, structured outputs, thinking levels, tools, skills, RAG tool references, and MCP sessions.
• Read sub-skills/rag-documents-data/SKILL.md for document ingestion, extraction, chunking, embeddings, LanceDB/vector stores, rerankers, RAG configs, indexing, and search tools.
• Read sub-skills/evals-optimization-finetuning/SKILL.md for evals, G-Eval, statistics, synthetic data/data guides, repair, prompt optimization, dataset splits, and fine-tuning.
• Read sub-skills/server-desktop-web-api/SKILL.md for FastAPI routes, kiln_server, kiln_mcp, desktop studio server extensions, Git sync, jobs/SSE/chat, OpenAPI generation, Svelte stores/components/routes, and schema-to-frontend flows.
• Read sub-skills/repo-development/SKILL.md for monorepo layout, test selection, lint/type/format/build commands, frontend design rules, existing local maintenance skills, prerelease/deprecation boundaries, and human/legal gates.

Cross-cutting rules

• Treat libs/core as the canonical Python library (kiln-ai) and source of model/datamodel/runtime truth.
• Treat libs/server as the public REST/MCP server package (kiln-server) wrapping core APIs.
• Treat app/desktop as checkout-bound desktop/studio-server code; it extends the server and hosts the built web UI.
• Treat app/web_ui as Svelte 4 + TypeScript + Tailwind/DaisyUI. Backend API changes usually require OpenAPI schema regeneration/checks.
• Prefer source and installed-package facts over README guesses. Use tests to confirm edge behavior and expected errors.
• Use mocked/local tests for normal verification. Paid/prerelease/provider/Ollama/cloud cases are coverage gaps unless intentionally authorized.

Common setup gotchas

• Current Kiln code expects lock-compatible dependencies. In particular, unconstrained installs may choose incompatible mcp or starlette versions; use the repo lock or pin to the versions described in references/troubleshooting.md when debugging imports.
• RAG/LanceDB imports can require pandas via llama-index-vector-stores-lancedb even when a minimal dependency resolver misses it.
• Desktop source imports are checkout workflows, not isolated public wheel imports; do not confuse kiln-studio-desktop metadata with the full source tree being available.

Repo-level references and helpers

• references/repo-development-overview.md summarizes monorepo packages, install surfaces, and cross-skill ownership.
• references/troubleshooting.md covers cross-cutting install/import/check failures before diving into sub-skill-specific troubleshooting.
• references/repo-routing-metadata.json is structured router metadata for managed repo-skill import tooling.
• scripts/check_kiln_environment.py safely checks package imports, distribution metadata, CLI help, and optional checkout-aware probes.
• scripts/kiln_repo_checks.sh prints or runs conservative targeted maintenance commands from a Kiln checkout.